From our families: Edward Playfair
Edward Playfair (MA Hons 1995) has family connections to the University of St Andrews dating back to the early 1700s. In this issue of LINK, Edward discusses the joy of…
Category: Alumni Stories
The Mountaineering Club, a 15,000km journey and saving the Scottish wildcat
Helen Senn (BSc Hons 2005) is Head of Conservation and Science at the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland, where she is currently leading the reintroduction of wildcats into the Cairngorm…
Forbes 30 Under 30: one alumna at the cutting-edge of neuroscience
Patricia Zvarova (BSc Hons 2021) first became interested in the field of neuroscience when her brother fell into a coma following a car accident as a teenager. This event led…
Scene changes: from St Andrews to the States
Marshall Bissett (MA 1970) pursued his passion for theatre from his home in Perth to St Andrews, and beyond to the stages and stadiums of London and the US. He…
St Andrews: an escape and an awakening
Liz Gerschel (MA Hons 1972) was one of the first women to walk in the Kate Kennedy Procession and has spent a lifetime campaigning for race, gender and disability equality.…
A million miles from Earth
Dr Mark Clampin (PhD 1986) is the Deputy Associate Administrator, Science Mission Directorate, at NASA, providing executive leadership for NASA’s portfolio of science programmes. He reflects on his PhD at…
A New York Times bestseller shaped at St Andrews
Peter Burns (MA Hons 2004) has spent almost two decades writing non-fiction and working as Managing Director at Polaris Publishing. In 2025, he realised his lifelong ambition of becoming a…
Voices behind the screen
For Molly Ryan (MLitt 2022), coming to St Andrews for a postgraduate degree marked a change of direction from museums and heritage into a career in film. She reflects on…
Tea, toast and journalism: a career shaped at St Andrews
Christina Mackenzie (MA Hons 1979) chose to study at the University of St Andrews as a nod to her father’s Scottish heritage. She shares memories of her time at the…
Around the world on two wheels
Connor McElwaine (MLitt 2015) left his job in school leadership to embark on the adventure of a lifetime: a long-distance bikepacking journey inspired by a desire to understand the world…